Oh Mother PaadhukA ! That You took pity on
BharathA , who was grief-stricken by separation
from the elder brother (Rama) was sweet news
to all the worlds ; it was cheered , as though ,
ao loudly by all people praising You , that
the drum-beating and allied sounds were even subdued .

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1) Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh Mother!
Oh MaNi PaadhukA! When RaamA left for the southern
parts , He demostrated His partiality to that region
over His native northern land. He did not have
the compassion at that time for His brother BharathA
or His subjects. You took that responsibility and
took pity on BharathA and the subjects. As a result ,
Your glory was celebrated by poets in verses and by
the KaahaLam (Thirucchinna Vaadhyam, which is blown
to announce the Lord's arrival). kahaLAm burst forth
and competed with the loud singing of Your praise
by famous poets to celebrate Your act of compassion .

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam : The inner meaning of
the slOkam is that AzhwAr ghOshti should be honored
with auspicious Vaadhyams to show our reverence .

(3)PaadhukA's DhaakshiNyam (partiality) for the grieving
brother , BharathA and returning to the capital of Kosala
desam with him to sit on the throne of Raghu Kulam was
greeted with great joy by the citizens like the sweetest
sound of KaahaLam .

Oh Mother PaadhukA ! You bore the monarchy , ofcourse ,
after DasarathA and before RaamA ; You did so effortlessly
and removed the grief of all.; but then the Manu line
acquired a great distinction -a fortunate one ( of all
predecessors as well as successors of DasarathA )
being counted along with You ; it became a PaadhukA vamsam !

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1) Sri UthtamUr Swamy's anubhaavm : Oh Mother!
Oh Lord's PaadhukA ! You ruled the kingdom of
the Manus between DasarathA and RaamA . By counting You
as one of their kings , the whole lineage of Manu
became famous. Both the predecessors and the successors
to You were proud to consider themselves as the rulers
of the PaadhukA raajyam and did not want to be known as
mere kings of Raghu Vamsam or Manu Kingdom .

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Since the time of
Your ascent to the throne of Manu , that vamsam
acheived visEsha bhAgyam.The inner meaning is that
our Sri VaishNava paramparai achieved unique distinction
by Swamy NammAzhwAr being our PrathamAchAryan.

(3) There were an illustrious line of kings
who belonged to Manu Vamsam such as Raghu , Dileepan
and DasarathA . After DasarathA , there was immense
sorrow all around that RaamA could not succeed
his father immediately due to His promise to spend
the next fourteen years in the forest . Swamy Desikan
uses the powerful word "khEdham " to hint at the poignancy of
the sorrow felt by the Citizens of AyOdhyA . "KhEdham "
means depression , dejection of spirits , distress ,
torment , fatigue and exhaustion . During that soul-
searching time , Sri Raama Paadhukais accepted the throne
to remove that "KhEdham " and the Manu Vamsam
acquired distinct bhAgyam ( dhanya: BhabhUva)..V.S

Oh Mother PaadhukA ! That Your reign was superior
even to RaamA's reign follows from the facts that
during all those years of Your reign , no member of
the fourth varNA even performed penance; no young boy
died prematurely; no untoward incident ever occured
warranting a ritual atonement .

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1)Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Here Swamy Desikan
points out to the special glory of the fourteen year long
rule of Kosala dEsam by the Lord's Paadhukais. He says:
" When You ruled , there were no inauspicious events
such as the penance undertaken by unauthorized persons,
untimely death of children , invasion by foes et al .
There were no ills to react against and correct .Unique
indeed is Your glorious reign !".

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: The inner meaning is that
there may be some inauspiciousness(Sodhanais) for those
who seek out the Lord. There will however be none for
those , who seek refuge at the feet of a SadAchAryan .

(3)Swamy Desikan says: " Raghu Pungava PaadharakshE !
tava rAjyE --aparam prathividhEyam prasaktham naivAbhUth ".
Here Swamy addresses the PaadhukA as those of Raghupungavan.
The naamam Raghupungavan is synonomus with RaNa Pungavan
created by Swamy Desikan in his ParamArtha Sthuthi
to salute the Vijaya Raaghavan of Thirupputtkkuzhi dhivya desam.
RaNa Pungavan means one with superior valour in the battles .
The valour of the Paadhuka is even more notworthy
in that it nips off in the bud potential troubles .
Therefore , there is no need for it to take
countermeasures ( prathividhEyam ). There is not even
a " prasaktham " (connection ) to such countermeasures .
Such is the glory of the PaadhukA Raajyam , which
went beyond the glories of the Raama Raajyam !..V.S

Oh PaadhukA ! The whole universe hangs on Earth , which was
born out of the Lord's feet , which are actually later implanted
on You. When this Earth was in a helpless state, it had
to be rescued by You , at the right time. Rightly so !

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1) Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam : The DevAs in heaven
look upon Mothr Earth as their well wisher.That is why
the Lord appeared as a wild Boar (BhUvarAhan)
and brought back the stolen BhUmi Devi on His tusk
from under the Ocean . When there was a vaccum in
the succession to King DasarThA and when it looked
as though Mother Earth had no ruler to maintain
righteousness , You responded to Her sorrowful
request and accepted the rsponsibility of ruling
the kingdom . Thus ,You rescued Mother Earth from
Her trauma.

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam : Oh PaadhukE !
VisvambharA (Vasumathi/Mother earth) arose from
the holy feet of the Lord that is being protected
by You . When RaamA left for the forest , there was
no one to protect the Raajya Lakshmi . At that time ,
You rememembered the Thiruvadi Sambhandham
( Your relationship to the Lord's holy feet)
and came to Her protection .

(3) Here Swamy Desikan reminds us of a web of
relationships . The world is borne by Mother
Earth ( Visvam thvath aasritha:); Mother Earth
arose form the sacred feet of the Lord ( PadhAmbhuja
Sambhavam ) ; Those feet are protected by the gem-studded
Paadhukai . When RaamA gave up the kingdom in
favor of BharathA at the request of His father ,
Mother Earth became ananya SaraNA ( without
refuge/protection ) Oh PaadhukE ! on that tremulous
occasion for Vasumathi (Mother Earth) ,
You protected Her in remememberance of
the relationship between Mother Earth and
SarvEswaran... V.S

Oh PaadhukA ! The kingdom almost swooned , when RaamA
left it. It was then received on Your lap and You
revivified it by steps , including the wafting of
the water-wetted fan. Is that not so?

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1) Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam : Oh Mother! Oh Lord's
sacred PaadhukE ! When Raajya LakshmI was grief stricken
over RaamA's seperation , She landed on Your lap for without
consciousness.You accepted at that time the service of
wet fan waving from BharathA to console Raajya Lakshmi .
Swami Desikan refers here to the kaimkaryam that BharathA did
with a scented fan sprinkled with medicinal waters to bring
Raajya LakshmI back to consciousness.

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam : Oh PaadhukE !
When Raajya Lakshmi fainted from the unbearable
sorrow over RaamA's vana Vaasam ( exile to the forest) ,
She fell on Your lap . You comforted Her and revivified
Her through the acceptance of the Chaamara Kaimkaryam
( Fan service)from BharathA . The inner meaning of this
slOkam is that AchAryAs are not really looking for
the devotion-filled Kaimkaryams from the SishyAs.
The AchAryAs however accept them in their role
as AchAryAs and for blessing the sishyAs with
auspiciousness as commanded by their Lord ,
Sri RanganAthan .
(3) The sequence of steps are beautifully recorded
by Swamy Desikan from RaamA's departure to the forest,
the sorrow of Raajya lakshmi , Her fainting to
the restoration of Her consciousness through
the PaadhukA's acceptance of chamara kaimkaryam
by BharathA . With One choice word , "TadhAnIm " ,
(at that time) Swamy provides the context of Ramaa's
departure for the forest . The rest of the following events
are swift in time scale (a) Raajya LakshmI Raama
Viraha VyaThithA ( Raajya Lakshmi suffered the pangs
of seperation form RaamA , Her protector); (b) She
fell on Your lap in a state of unconsciousness ( Tava
uthsangam aasrithavathI) ; (c) You brought her back
to consciousness ( thaam JeevayithumEva anghIchakaara).
How did You do It ? Although You could bring Her
back to consciousness directly, You accepted BharathA's
devoted fan service as a vyAjam in Your role as
His AchAryan ( ThvAM BharathOpanItham jalArdhrAm prAyENa
angIchakaara). BharathA was eager to serve You
and You accepted that Kaimkaryam for the benefit
of Raajya Lakshmi resting on Your lap..V.S

Oh PaadhukA ! RaamA stood steadfast in his vow of
upholding His father's words. BharathA adopted
the Aasidhara vow , of standing on a sharp razor's
edge, for years , i.e., relinquishing all pleasures
even when they were very close by ; and You undertook
the EkasikA vow, of sitting unmoved at one spot ,
abandoning the earlier style of sportively moving
about.(A unique posture indeed -like that of NammAzhwAr).

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1) Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Swamy Desikan
celebrates here the vow that the PaadhukA took
to stay at the same spot for fourteen years. Normally,
as the PaadhukA of the Lord , it will not stay put at
one place for too long. Swamy says that PaadhukAs took
the difficult vow to remain immobile for fourteen
years to help BharathA , who had taken another
difficult vow of total service to the PaadhukAs
without any distraction caused by his princely status.
Swamy Desikan salutes here the EkAsika (rooted to
one place) vow undertaken by the PaadhukA and reminds us
of a similar observance by NammAzhwAr , the name-sake
of the PaadhukA at AzhwAr Thirunagari. There , the AzhwAr
sat immobile in contemplation of Sriman NaarAyaNA under
a tamarind tree for many years.

(2)Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE ! RaamA
vowed not return before destroying the asurAs.BharathA
refused to be coronated in place of his elder brother.
You gave up Your sanchArams and decided to stay at one place.
RaamA's vratham is common to the valorous ones . Controlling
of one's indhriyams in contrast is not easy and hence
BharathA's vow was far superior to that of RaamA's vow.
It was a great surpise that You decided to become
stationary and stayed at one place for fourteen
years.

(3)RaamA had Veera Vratha PraNayam (desire to
pursue Veera Vratham ). BharathA however undertook
the AasithAra vratham ( Staying away from temptations
even if the objects of enjoyment are very close) .
PaadhukA took on the rare yEkAsikA vratham ( staying
put at one place).Swamy Desikan asks us to decide ,
which vratham was the most superior one ..V.S

Oh PaadhukA ! BharathA presented cool Chamaara kaimkaryam
( Fan wafting service ) to You as if to alleviate
Your grief on Separation from RaamA's sacred feet.
You were indeed in need of this since You sat
silently and statically .

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1) Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam : Oh MaNi PaadhukE !
You were determined to protect RaamA's lotus feet from
thorns and sharp stones , wherever He went. Thinking in
this manner, You made the whole world free of thorns,
so He could roam freely without hardship , while You
stayed without movement in AyOdhyA to help BharathA.
The thorns here refer to all kinds of inauspicious
happenings. Swamy Desikan states that the PaadhukAs made
the whole world free from all kinds of amangaLams ,
while it ruled AyOdhyA as RaamA's representative , just
as it protected RaamA's feet from the stones and
thorns of the forest .

(2) Srimath Andavamn's anubhavam : Oh PaadhukE !
You were in a state of shock from the separation from
Your Lord's holy feet. At that time , You did not
speak or move. BharathA performed his chaamara
Kaimkaryam to help You reconcile with Your sorrow.

(3) Swamy recognizes the maNi Padhukais as Kaakuthstha
Paadhukais. Kaakuthstha is an epithet for the kings
of solar race ( Kakuthstha Vamsam ). The Paadhukai
of Kaakuthstha Raaman stayed at AyOdhyA and suffered
very much from the sorow of separation form the Lord's
sacred feet ( Kaakuthstha Paadha Viraha prathipanna
mounam , nishpandhathAm ) and was quiet and motionless
as if in a state of fainting. BharathA came to the rescue
and tried to reduce the intense suffering of the Paadhukai
through his frequent wet-fan service to the Paadhukai .
It appeared as though BharathA was trying to console
the Paadhukai through this noble service ( AasvAsayanniva
seethai:chAmara Maaruthai: avIjayatha)and speak to him ...V.S

Oh PaadhukA ! Rightly did you decide that You decide
that You should ever serve RamA's feet. For this , You made
the whole world free of thorns (enemies) by Your mere will .

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1) Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam : Oh MaNi PaadhukE!
You were determined to protect RaamA's lotus feet from
thorns , wherever He went . Thinking in this manner,
You made the whole world free of thorns , so He could roam
freely without hardship , while You stayed without
movement in AyOdhyA to help BharathA .Thorns here
stand for all inauspicious happenings. Swamy Desikan
says here that the PaadhukAs made the whole world free
from all kinds of inauspiciousness , while it ruled
AyOdhyA as RaamA's representative , just as they
protected RaamA's feet from the stones and thorns of
the forest .

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam : The inner meaning is that
SadAchAryAs generate bhakthi to PerumAL in all people.

(3) KaNDakam means thorn .NishkaNDakam means free of
thorn or inauspiciousness . The first mission of
the Paadhukai is " RaghupadhE's padhAravindham
mayA rakshyam " ( The Lord's lotus feet must be
protected by me ). Thinking like that ( BhAvayanthyA ),
Paadhukai of the Lord ended up accomplishing more than
its primary duty(viz)., making the whole world
free of auspiciousness .

Oh Mother PaadhukA! LakshmaNA is bent on guarding RaamA ,
who is seperated from You . You are bent on guarding
BharathA , who is away from RaamA . Now , both Lakshmana
and Yourself resorted to a discipline of ever-alert
guarding- by reason of which the whole world manages
to be alive and wakeful.

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1)Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam:Oh Lord's PaadhukA !
My Mother! You took a vow to look after Your Lord and
BharathA , who was grief-stricken over seperation from
RamA . Therefore , You stayed awake during day and night
to look after their welfare. LakshmaNA like You watched over
RaamA without sleep , day and night . This auspicous behavior
of both LakshmaNA and Yours makes the world thrive even
today . Swamy Desikan says here that the world can not
forget this awe-inspiring loyalty demonstrated by
the PaadhukAs and LakshmaNA in observance of their
chosen duties . The world sets such conduct as
a standard for itself.

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: The inner meaning is that
the world and the Lord thrives from the conduct of
the BhaagavathAs.

(3) The key words here are : " Jaagratha VrathENa khalu
samastham Jagath Jaagarthi " ( It is because of the vow to
be awake/vigilant by the PaadhukA and LakshmaNA that
the whole world is free from mishaps/troubles)...V.S

Meaning by Sri U.Ve.V.N.VedAntha Desikan:
Oh Raama PaadhukE ! You who on Your visits to
the interior parts of the palace, used to be
respectfully enquired about and treated to
utmost hospitality , happen to be rubbed against
by the crown of competing royal personages ( who
wish to pay homage to You in great perturbation ).

Special Notes from Sri. U.Ve. V. Sadagopan

(1) Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh Holy Paadhukais of
the Lord of Kosalaa ! You were worshipped by SitA Devi's
servants , when Your Lord Visited His domestic quarters
to enjoy the company of His wife . Today , You bear
patiently the collisions of the crowns of the kings
that prostrate before You to receive Your blessings.
You were placed on the soft silken garments by the servants of
SitA Devi in Her quarters and received their worship
in those days; now, You receive the worship of
BharathA , the citizens and the assembled kings.
Your worship continues always.

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: Oh PaadhukE ! When You were
in the inner quarters of the palace, the servants there
offered their worship without public display. Now , You
are sitting publicly on the throne for all to see and
the crowns of Kings touch You . In vibhavam at AzhwAr
Thirunagari , Swamy NammAzhwAr was seated by himself
deep in meditation . When he has taken the archA form ,
assemblies of people come and worship him in throngs.
AzhwAr is worshipped since he belongs to the great
AchArya paramparai of Sriman NaarAyaNan .

(3) Inside the palace , discrete worship by
the servants took place ; in the throne room ,
public worship involving the vigorous prostrations
by the crowned heads took place.Swamy Desikan
chooses a colorful word here to describe the encounter
between the crowns adorning the heads of the jostling
kings prostrating before the Paadhukais on the throne .
Sangattanam is the word chosen and it means rubbing together
or close contact or the embrace between affectionate ones..V.S